He is known primarily for his habaneras, especially the one titled "La Paloma", written around 1860 after a visit to Cuba.

"La Paloma" was extremely popular in both Spain and the Americas (especially Mexico), where it was responsible for the great popularity achieved by the habanera.

The UNAM Radio (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) has pointed out that there are more than one thousand versions of "La Paloma", and that, together with "Yesterday" by The Beatles, it is one of the most recorded songs in the history of music.

Iradier was to die in obscurity in 1865 within few years, never to learn how popular his song would become.